Broken
by ibreathelucyy
Summary: What happens when Ezra finds out Malcolm isn't his son and his drinking problem from the past comes back to haunt him on top of the breakup with Aria. What I think will happen in season 4. Starts off after the breakup in 3x24.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone. This is going to be a story on what I think might happen in season 4. It basically starts off after the 3x24 breakup. In this story I am going to do what I think will happen between Jake and Aria. I have been reading spoilers saying there will be shocking developments for Ezra in season 4 so I am guessing he finds out Malcolm isn't his. I will be using that plot in this story. I also thought it would be interesting for Ezra to start having a drinking problem after the breakup so I will be using that too. It will include other characters like Malcolm, Maggie, the girls, Ella, Byron, maybe Mike, Wes, Dianne, Hardy, etc. In this story Spencer has never been in Radley or been on the A-Team. Someone else on the team kidnapped Malcolm. Enjoy!**

Ezra Fitz sat on the brown leather couch in his tiny, one bedroom apartment sipping on the strongest scotch he had ever tasted. He had had a rough day and was trying to clear his confused mind but that was impossible when the image of the flawless brunette who had stolen his heart kept reappearing in his mind.

"Nothing about us feels right anymore."

He remembered her words from earlier that day and felt the familiar pain in his heart once again. As he thought of the painful words she had said, he took another gulp of scotch which made his throat burn.

"I need to move on and so do you."

More of the words she had said kept coming back in his head. How did she expect him to move on when even the outrageous amount of alcohol he had consumed wouldn't make her get out of his mind. Was she going to move on? The thought of her with another man made Ezra want to jump off of a skyscraper.

Ezra kept refilling his glass of scotch over and over again. He had always had a problem with alcohol when things went wrong. Nobody knew about his drinking problem. Not even Aria. He thought he had gotten past the stage in his life when he would drink enough alcohol to last a lifetime to take away his pain. That was until today when he let the most important thing in his life slip away.

* * *

Aria Montgomery sat quietly in her bedroom. She got up from her current spot on her bed and walked over to her closet. She pulled out the purse that contained various items to remind her of all the memories that her and Ezra have shared. She opened the purse and smiled at what was inside. The museum ticket from their first date, arrows from the night he read his short story, the spoon she used on their first coffee together, the homecoming flier, and other things to remind her of Ezra.

Her smile grew larger as she looked through the things in the purse. Then she remembered. She had ended things with him to keep Malcolm and him safe and he needed the job at Rosewood High to support his son. As she remember the events from earlier that afternoon, her smile turned into a frown and warm tears fell from her hazel eyes.

She didn't know what she should do with the purse. She was supposed to be moving on. If those items were laying around her room that was going to make things even harder. As much as she knew she needed to get the purse out of her sight forever she didn't have the heart to get rid of it nor the items inside. She didn't want to lose these memories. They were the best part of her life. She decided to simply zip up the purse and put it back in her closet.

As she closed her closet a book on her night stand caught her eye. The book she was looking at was Winesburg, Ohio. This was one of her favorite books. She flipped threw the pages and on the last page she saw the familiar handwriting of the love of her life.

"When you need to leave Rosewood..."

Aria continued to let the tears fall. Moving on from him would be harder than she thought. She knew she had to move on but she needed him.

She quickly closed the book and got back into bed. She grabbed a pillow and sobbed into it. She cried herself to sleep that night wondering how she would move on from the love of her life. Her first love. Her soul mate.

* * *

An hour later Ezra was passed out drunk on his couch. He had kept thinking about Aria and kept trying to drink away his pain until he ended up passing out from the countless bottles of scotch emptied into his body.

The next sound Ezra heard was the loud, annoying, buzzing sound of his alarm clock. He reached over and turned the alarm clock off. He looked around the setting of his apartment. He must have fallen asleep on the couch. He opened his eyes completely and noticed the numerous empty alcohol bottles on his coffee table. He smelled like alcohol. He needed to get in the shower before he had to be at Rosewood High to substitute a class. As he stood up he noticed how dizzy he was. How he was going to make it threw a school day was beyond him.

He stepped into the shower and let the warm water drip down his toned body. He let his mind drift to a few months ago when him and Aria had taken a shower in here which in the end turned out way more than just a usual shower. As he thought of Aria tears fell down his face and blended with the warm water coming from the faucet. He thought he was stronger than this. He thought he was stronger than to let a woman take over his life and drown him in pain. The truth was Ezra was stronger than to let a woman drown him in pain but with Aria wasn't an ordinary woman.

Sure he thought he loved Maggie and Jackie at the times they dated but nothing compared to the love he had for Aria Montgomery. She had stolen his heart from the first day she walked into Snookers.

Since the shower was bringing him more memories of Aria, Ezra quickly finished his shower and got ready for the day.

* * *

Aria woke up to the sound of the alarm on her phone. As she reached over to grab her phone, she saw the picture on her nightstand. It was the picture that had been sitting there for the past 2 months. She continued looking at the picture and noticed how happy the two of them looked. So much had changed since then. The picture was taken right before Dianne Fitzgerald came into the picture. That was before all the drama in our lives had started.

Aria decided she needed to get ready for school so she flipped the picture over facing the wood surface of the nightstand. She got up out of bed and walked over to her closet. She for once decided to wear a casual outfit today. She got dressed, did her make up, and thought about how she would do her hair. She decided to go with the usual curls.

After she was ready she got a text from Emily.

"Hey, do you need a ride to school."

"Yes, please," I replied quickly.

Within a few minutes she heard Emily pull up. Byron was already at work and Mike was at Ella's so Aria simply grabbed her bag and walked to the car. When she got in she noticed Spencer and Hanna were in the car also.

"Since when do you wear jeans and a hoodie," Hanna asked giggling

"Never but I had a really rough day yesterday," I told her.

"Why what happened?" Spencer asked me concerned.

"I broke up with Ezra," I told them.

"Why?" Emily asked me shocked.

"Things just weren't working out. He need the substitute job and after A kidnapped Malcolm,"I explained.

"We understand," they told me as we pulled into the parking lot at school.

We walked into first period which was a class we all had together. I took my seat and waited for Ezra to arrive. He was substituting my English class today.

A few minutes later he walked into the classroom. There was something different about him today. He had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was messy and still damp. There was something wrong with him and I was dying to know what it was but I couldn't.

Ezra started teaching the first period class and Aria instantly recognized the pain in his voice. She wondered if it was her fault. Of course it was her fault. She had crushed his precious heart. How would they both move on when they needed each other?

**Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it. Reviews are appreciated. I will try and update soon. You can also tweet me feedback on Twitter ibreathelucyy**


	2. Lonely Days, Darker Nights

**Okay so this chapter was supposed to be up sooner but new spoilers were released so I have to change the main story lines that I thought were going to happen but can't now. In case you don't know, I base this story off spoilers that I read. I am thankful for all the reviews I have gotten. Keep being great. Enjoy!**

As time went on, the days got lonelier and the nights got darker. Ezra Fitz spent his nights avoiding Maggie and Malcolm and drinking various kinds of alcohol until he passed out. Aria Montgomery spent her afternoons at a new martial arts class she had signed up for. She spent her nights texting her martial instructor Jake. She thought that he would be the way to move on and get her heart off of Ezra.

Aria sat in her first period English class waiting for Ezra to arrive and teach the class. It wouldn't surprise her if he didn't show up today. He has been calling off work lately. On days he was here it didn't seem like he was.

Aria knew something was wrong with him and knew it was her fault. It was killing her to know if he was okay.

As Aria heard the door open she darted her head up quickly hoping to see Ezra.

Instead of seeing Ezra walk in it was an older woman.

"Hello class, I am your teacher for today. My name is Mrs. Posey,"she stated.

Mrs. Posey began teaching the class and Aria drifted off into her own little world.

* * *

_Aria POV_

As the final bell rang, I gathered up my things and went to my car. I was driving threw town when I saw him. Ezra was sitting at one of the tables in front of Lucky Leons.

I needed to know if he was okay. I glanced at the clock in my car. I had 45 minutes until I had to be at my martial arts class.

I parked my car and walked over to where Ezra was sitting. I remembered how much I had missed seeing his face when not sitting in a classroom.

"Ezra," I said

"Aria," he replied shocked that I was standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I was in town and saw you. I noticed you weren't in class today. Are you okay?" I asked concerned.

"I'm fine," he responded coldly.

"No you're not," I accused.

"I have to go," he grumbled.

"Ezra please just wait," I shouted as he started walking away.

Ezra pretended he didn't hear me and kept walking until he reached his destination to his car.  
He got in the drivers side of the car and started the car as fast as he could. He gave me one last look when I noticed tears starting to roll down his cheeks. As we stared at each other for a moment, He wiped his tears and drove away.

* * *

I arrived to my martial arts class just when class was starting.

"Nice of you to join us today Mrs. Montgomery," Jake said with a huge smile growing on his face.  
I couldn't help the smile that appeared on my face.

"It's great to be here. Sorry I am late," I replied.

"You're not late, you're just in time," he told me.

"Great," I answered.

After the class ended everyone had cleared out of the building and I was gathering up my things when I saw Jake walking towards me.

As he was walking towards me I couldn't help but notice how attractive he was. He was 26, had flawless eyes and hair, and had the perfect body but nothing could compare to the blue eyed, brown curly haired man that I had once called my own.

I was interrupted from my thought when I realized Jake had stopped walking and was now standing a few feet in front of me.

"You did great today," he told me.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you," I told him.

"Aria," he asked.

That's when I noticed Jake getting closer and closer until he was inches away leaning in to kiss my lips.

"Jake, stop. I have a boyfr..." I said.

Then it hit me. I didn't have a boyfriend anymore.

"You know what. Nevermind," I said before pressing my lips roughly againist his.

As soon as I kissed Jake, I awaited for the sparks I usually feel when I kiss Ezra. I kept waiting the whole time I was kissing Jake but they never came.

We both pulled away when we heard the door slam shut. Everyone has left at least 20 minutes ago. That's when I noticed what started as an innocent first kiss ended with me having my small legs wrapped around Jake's waist.

"I should go," I said as I stood on my own again.

"Maybe that is a good idea," he said.

He gave me one last kiss and I left.

When I walked out I saw a car just then pulling out of the lot. The car looked strangely familiar. Then I realized why it was so familiar. It was his car.

The car belonged to Ezra Fitz.

**Sorry it's kind of short. I wanted to end it like this. I swear I won't take as long to post chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review.**


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